The 12 Best Hotel Christmas Trees

While we love the traditional Christmas tree (because, who doesn't?), hotels like Claridge's and the Connaught in London, and a whole host in New York City, decide to put their own creative stamp on the holiday icon each year. From macarons to minimalism, these are our favorite hotel Christmas trees.

The Peninsula Chicago

It's no surprise that this luxury spot—voted the third best hotel in Chicago in our annual Readers' Choice Awards—would also have a spectacular 24-foot Christmas tree to boot. Sat in the hotel's main lobby, it shimmers in all the requisite reds, golds, and greens. Did we mention how much we love the giant star at the top?

Courtesy Claridge's

Claridge's, London

Christmas at Claridge's is always the glitziest (and most British) way to spend the holiday in London, and the annual unveiling of the lobby's Christmas tree is a particularly festive occasion. This year, Apple’s chief design officer, Sir Jony Ive, and designer for special projects, Marc Newson, have taken on the challenge of designing the highly anticipated spruce (Dolce & Gabbana and Burberry are past collaborators), turning the yuletide tradition into a fully immersive installation—complete with glowing illustrations of silver birch trees lining the walls.

Courtesy The Ritz-Carlton

The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte

There's a taste of Paris at the Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte this year, with a tree constructed out of precisely 8,000 pink macarons—plus another croquembouche tree made from 1,700 profiteroles. The tower of macarons, which comes in at 12-feet, took around 170-hours to be assembled by the hotel's pastry team. Meanwhile, in another part of the hotel resides an environmentally-friendly tree made out of 789 recycled green bottles.

Courtesy The London EDITION‎

London EDITION

Over at Ian Schrager's London EDITION in Fitzrovia, the 2016 Christmas tree has been designed by set designer and artistic director Simon Costin, who has worked with the likes of Alexander McQueen, YSL, and Hermès. The inspiration is Welsh mythology, with fantastical looking moths and squirrels, and purple baubles decorating the branches. As for the angel at the top? Costin opted for an extravagant owl to watch over guests.

Courtesy The Connaught

The Connaught, London

The prize-winning British sculptor Anthony Gormley is responsible for The Connaught's minimalist tree in London's Mayfair. At 57-feet high, the Western Red Cedar is illuminated by a glowing beam of light that runs up the trunk, in turn making each of its branches glow. "I want the tree to celebrate life and all its myriad forms," Gormley said of the tree. "At this, the darkest time of the year and at a moment of global dysfunction, I hope this magnificent tree conveys a feeling of continuance and vitality.”

Courtesy Ojai Valley Inn & Spa

Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, California

The fifth best hotel in Southern California, according to our Readers' Choice Awards, also has one of our favorite Christmas trees this year. Standing tall on the lawn of the resort's sprawling grounds, an impressive haul of presents lies underneath—who cares if it's 70 degrees and sunny on Christmas Day?

Courtesy Big Cedar Lodge

Big Cedar Lodge, Missouri

Out in the wilderness of the Ozarks, the tree at Big Cedar Lodge sits resplendent under the Adirondack-style mansion's high ceilings. Antlers hang from above, the giant fern sparkles with every festive color, and there's a large fireplace to sit beside all day—you can practically smell the pine from here.

Courtesy Langham Place

Langham Place, New York

First, we had a tree made entirely of macarons in Charlotte and now, at Langham Place, a tree comprised of 3,500 roses in reds, creams, and dusty pinks. The Langham has done fun things with its lobby in the past, too: In 2015, the hotel installed works by celebrated artist Alex Katz behind the front desks. We think this tree is pretty enough to greet guests all year round.

Courtesy Omni Mount Washington Resort

Omni Mount Washington Resort, New Hampshire

This resort's landmarked building, which dates back to 1902, has housed noteworthy guests that include Thomas Edison and three U.S. presidents, and so it comes as no surprise that its annual Christmas tree is an appropriately grand affair. After a day spent on the slopes at the nearby ski resort, we can't imagine anything more festive than returning to this towering fern bedecked with hundred of ornaments and ribbons.

Courtesy Windsor Court Hotel

Windsor Court Hotel, New Orleans

The Windsor Court Hotel in New Orleans has invested in a 19.5-foot Christmas tree to decorate its lobby this year. And if 25,000 mini-white lights adorning its branches isn't enough to get you in the festive spirit, then a fully-functioning toy train racing around the presents below surely will.

Courtesy Hilton

Hilton Chicago

If this was a competition, this Hilton in Chicago might just win it on the grounds of sheer extravagance. There is a poinsettia kissing ball; a "life-size" gingerbread hotel built from 16,000 gingerbread bricks; and 60-foot wreaths. Then, of course, there is the sparkly tree itself, measuring a towering 24-feet. Need we say more?

Courtesy Loews Regency Hotel

Loews Regency Hotel, New York

Staying in a hotel just around the corner from Central Park and a stone's throw from Tiffany's on Fifth Avenue is pretty much the ultimate Christmas fantasy, and so it makes sense that the hotel would make sure to have an impressive tree in its lobby. Shimmering with gold and silver baubles, the best part is surely the twist on the traditional angel or star: a large, white peacock to keep an eye on the lobby.